Police identify drivers in West Bridgewater Route 24 crash

State Police on Tuesday released the names of the victims involved in Sunday’s Route 24 accident that claimed the lives of a young Mansfield woman and Rhode Island man.

By Christopher Nichols

The Taunton Daily Gazette, Taunton, MA

By Christopher Nichols

Posted Jul. 18, 2012 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jul 18, 2012 at 6:00 PM

By Christopher Nichols

Posted Jul. 18, 2012 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jul 18, 2012 at 6:00 PM

WEST BRIDGEWATER

» Social News

State Police on Tuesday released the names of the victims involved in Sunday’s Route 24 accident that claimed the lives of a young Mansfield woman and Rhode Island man.

Lisa Banat, 19, of Mansfield was operating a 2010 Toyota Corolla that may have been driving south on the northbound side of Route 24. The Corolla reportedly rolled over after striking a pickup truck head on, and then may have been struck by another vehicle, police said.

Banat suffered severe injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.

John LaChapelle, 44, from Tiverton, R.I. was the operator of the pickup truck that police said burst into flames after colliding with the Corolla. He was trapped in the burning vehicle and was deceased at the scene, police said.

His passenger, Kim LaChapelle, 42, also of Tiverton, escaped from the vehicle and was reported to have suffered only minor injuries.

Two other vehicles were also involved in the crash north of Exit 16 that occurred just before 4 a.m. on Sunday.

A 2002 Chevy Tahoe operated by Kevin Alexander, 36, of Fall River, and a 2003 Chevy Cavalier operated by Richard Carreira, 66, of Swansea were also involved in the collision north of Exit 16.

Alexander and Carreira were transported to Good Samaritan Hospital in Brockton with non-life threatening injuries.

Police said the crash threw debris onto both sides of the highway, necessitating the closure of the entire highway.

Southbound lanes were opened first by 7 a.m., and northbound was entirely opened at 10:25 a.m., police said.

Troop D of the State Police and the Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section (CARS) continue to investigate the crash. CARS is in the process of analyzing physical evidence to reconstruct the sequence of events leading to and during the crash, police said.

It is still not known why and how the Corolla was traveling the wrong way on Route 24, police said.

The deadly crash was the second of the week on Route 24. A 12-year-old Norton girl died Thursday after police said a tire blew on the vehicle she was a passenger, causing the vehicle to flip on Route 24 in Avon.